In one of his most underrated collaborations with Bergman, von
Sydow stars as a 19th-century traveling magician whose astonishing
feats of illusion are challenged by the unyielding rationality of
Dr. Vergerus (Björnstrand)—culminating in a disturbing
confrontation. Mixing gothic horror, suspense, and satire, Bergman
explores the tension between logic and mysticism in “one of his
most genuinely enjoyable films” (Time Out London).